Architecture, preservation and planning that inspire transformation

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Print this page
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • News
Menu
  • Inspiring Works
  • Architecture
    • Higher Education
      • Academic
      • Business Schools
      • Student Life
      • Science + Technology
      • Campus Planning
    • Civic & Government
  • Planning
    • Campus and Community
    • Real Estate Development
    • Downtowns and Special Districts
    • Transit-Oriented Development
    • Neighborhoods and Housing
    • Waterfronts
    • Region and Community
    • Corridors and Main Streets
    • Resilience
  • Preservation
    • Higher Education
      • Academic
      • Student Life
      • Science + Technology
      • Campus Planning
    • Adaptive Reuse
    • National Historic Landmarks
    • Exterior Restoration
    • Sustainable Preservation
    • Civic & Government
  • People
    • Leadership
    • Culture
  • About Us
    • Sustainability & Resilience
    • Civic Engagement
    • Awards
    • News
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
Downtown Development and Urban Design Plan
  • Downtowns and Special Districts
  • /
  • Planning
  • Planning
  • /
  • Downtowns and Special Districts

City of Allentown, Allentown, PA

Guiding an unprecedented wave of reinvestment to turn around Pennsylvania's third largest city

A powerful state incentive program, the Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ ) has unleashed a historic wave of investment in downtown Allentown as employers return to new downtown office buildings at cheaper rents than they could find in the suburbs. The scale and pace of investment—$1 billion and 1.5 million square feet of real estate investment in just five years—are unprecedented. Goody Clancy led a team that created a framework to guide redevelopment and public investment decisions to ensure that downtown continues growing into a dynamic, livable urban center for the region.

The framework not only accommodates robust continued commercial development, but taps residential market opportunity to more than double Downtown's population and transform it into a true neighborhood, reconnected to adjacent neighborhoods. The plan included:

  • analysis that revealed market potential for 1,000 additional units downtown housing at over five years
  • identifying catalyst redevelopment sites, including proposed land use mix and design priorities
  • providing building massing guidelines organized by street type
  • embracing strategies to reinforce downtown’s historic character and leverage existing infrastructure
  • prioritizing proposed improvements to public spaces

As a local reporter has described it, “Allentown’s downtown once was known for its failures — in art by the Billy Joel pop song lamenting an America in decline, and in real life by the 1994 implosion of its only modern office building, which cratered into a gaping sinkhole on Seventh Street. Now, the very same neighborhood stands as an example of the finest urban development and design around the world.”

IMPLEMENTATION

Since completing the Plan, Downtown has added over $675 million in new investment as a part of 22 projects, including:

  • Over 900,000 square feet of office space in Class A towers, Class B buildings, and incubator space
  • Six new restaurants and over a dozen retail storefronts
  • Over 300 apartment units, with another 200 under development
  • A 170-room luxury hotel
  • Two additional blocks of the ArtsWalk linear plaza
  • A public parking structure wrapped with housing uses

In addition to guiding large-scale development, the Plan has ensured that:

  • Development projects proposed since plan adoption respond to the improved design standards now in place. Goody Clancy provides ongoing design review services to help ensure high-quality development projects contribute to the vitality and character of downtown. Over a dozen projects have completed design review.
  • In face of limited funding, Goody Clancy and the Allentown NIZ Development Authority developed a process to invest in public realm improvements based on the Downtown Plan. This process helps fund key improvements to public spaces needed to invigorate downtown streets and provide neighborhood amenities. The first project approved as part of this process was the central downtown square envisioned for redesign and reactivation as part of the Plan.
Show more ↓Show less ↑

Awards

American Planning Association

APA—National Planning Achievement Award for Urban Design, 2019

APA–Pennsylvania Chapter, Planning Excellence Award – Plan Other Than a Comprehensive Plan, 2016

Report

Downtown Allentown Development and Urban Design Plan

Goody Clancy Planning News

  • David Spillane Elevated to the AICP College of Fellows
  • Lori Ferriss Discusses Preservation of Historic Structures in SCUP Webinar Series
  • Mary Means Honored with Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award
  • Read more →

On the Boards

  • Engineering Building Renovation and Addition
  • Integrated Science Center 4
  • College of Business
  • Read more →

Sustainability & Resilience

At Goody Clancy, our environmental philosophy is founded upon macro-resiliency in planning for neighborhoods and communities and the sustainable design of new and renewed buildings, systems, and the user environment.

Read more →

  • ©2023 Goody Clancy. All rights reserved.
    • /
    • Privacy Policy
    • /
    • Site Map
  • 420 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116-3866
  • /
  • P. 617.262.2760
  • /
  • F. 617.262.9512
  • Design and development by RainCastle Communications